Planes (2013)

This review took a while to write. I was trying to decide whether my casual interest for airplanes was clouding my judgement. Then I got confused about whether I was rooting for DisneyToon Studios to succeed or fail in its first theatrical effort in nearly seven years. What I came away with was this: Planes is a good movie. Dusty Crophopper (Dane Cook) is a crop dusting plane who dreams of racing. Besides the fact that he is afraid of heights, Dusty is hampered by his lack of speed. Still, he chases after his dream and, through a series of incredibly predictable events, he ends up in a race around the world. There are some things to dislike about this movie. The most obvious is that it starts with a title screen that says "From above the world of 'Cars.'" It's like Disney was shouting, "We hope you saw that movie because that was really cool. This will try to be that, but it's going to fail." Beyond that there were a few parts that were a little hokey. Some say "Planes" has weak script writing, but I think the real weak link is Dane Cook. Every time I heard Dusty talk, I kept thinking Owen Wilson would have been great in that role. Then I remembered that Owen voiced Lightning McQueen, the main character in "Cars." There is no way they would reuse Owen's voice for what is essentially the same role in a movie that is so connected to "Cars." Still, Planes won me over. Roper (Sinbad) and El Chupacabra (Carlos Alazraqui) were hilarious. I liked how Disney showed multiple cultures and gave each its individual identity. They even got a Bollywood actress to voice the Indian plane Ishani. This is a great movie for kids who wonder when they will ever need Science or Math, as the planes constantly talk about gravity, drag, tail winds and moisture levels. It will further bolster arguments that those subjects are good for lots of things. You don't need to see Cars before you see this, but there are some ties to that movie. Planes doesn't have the Radiator Springs emotion of Cars, but it tries to make up for that in other ways. If you liked cars, you will like this. Final Verdict: I'll let others debate whether this should be a direct-to-home video film. If you have nothing else to do, Planes is a solid movie for you to see. It gets a solid 7 out of 10 in my mind. It doesn't soar to high heights, but it doesn't crash and burn. Cars was a favorite with kids and I suspect this series will be as well.

Fmovies: Just watched this computer animated feature in 3-D with my movie theatre-working friend. Part of me knew this was going to be a formula movie with the Disney trademarks of someone thought of as being average doing extraordinary things being the premise but it still works here. Also, there was some good funny lines sometimes and the story and characterizations were not bad if not great. I mean, John Cleese is good at being the stuffy Brit as one of the racing planes. There were also many exciting point-of-view shots of the leading plane flying through the skies so there was that. I also liked another one of the planes serenading a female racer with a slow version of "Love Machine". So on that note, Planes is worth a look if one is not too discriminating in choosing one of these late summer movies...

OK so it's no Cars. Or actually, it's very much like Cars, but the Planes part of that world. That's the whole idea. The Brent Mustangburger character ties it together if there was any doubt. Some of the jokes are similar. Some of the sight gags are similar. But the story itself is actually superior. Rather than a story about a spoiled sociopathic jerk who discovers that he actually does have a heart, this is a story of an individual who is all heart and proves to the world that you can be more than what everyone else tells you that you have to be. The Skipper character is very much reminiscent of the Doc character but that isn't necessarily a bad thing. Overall, it's a very inspiring story. Perhaps a little contrived, but it's a cartoon for kids. Lighten up! The jokes are good. The animation is good. My 4 year old daughter liked it and so did I (a 40yo man). As an inspiring story for kids to dream, work hard hard, and succeed, it is far superior to Cars in every way.

Planes fmovies. A plane that is afraid of heights? Really, is that all you could come up with...

That's like a car that's afraid of a freeway. This is only going to be enjoyed by children under 10, if even that. Bob the builder is better, seriously.

Summary: Jokes were not funny - Every line was trying too, too hard - Any effort to give the characters life fall very, very short - Action scenes were boring and predictable - It was like drinking a flat soda, no spark or fizz from start to finish.

Well, I feel like I have put more effort into this review than it deserves! Which is more than I can say for the film.

UGH, I want my time back please!

Yea, its a kid's movie. Yea, the reviews were bad so I went in with low expectations. Despite that and other factors this movie disappointed even my diminished hopes that it would provide some entertainment. It was banal, completely trite, devoid of anything even slightly new, didn't even have any small chuckles from some slight unexpected twist or resolved tension. It was flat as a pancake. Even both my kids (7 an 16) remarked that it was like a thousand other things they have seen without anything new or interesting. The actors voices were flat too. Like they didn't really put much effort into the emotions. Of course, since there was no real substance to the dialog its hard for an actor I suppose.

There is a bimodal distribution (2 peaks) in the user review scoring of Planes: 1-star, this is a horrible rip- off, nothing new here, Pixar's image is tarnished - and 10-star, what a wonderful kid's film, details are excellent, funny, good message.

First, this is not a Pixar film. You read that right. It's Disney, not Pixar. But it does have common cast of writers/producers. You may even note the tag line, "From above the world of Cars," overtly acknowledging the connection. If you can get past the notion of a rip-off, then, you'll find a lovely, joyful movie with enough to keep parents entertained while children are having a blast.

Yes the characters resemble those in Cars. Yes some of the plot lines are familiar. Yes the animation is similar to Cars (although the flight scenes are spectacular in spots). You know what I remember? Cars was a great movie! I'm pretty sure I remember that since I've seen it 147 times with my son (not really).

This is not an academy award winning movie. But it is a lot of fun. Before giving this children's cartoon 1-star, be clear what you're watching.